<div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><div><span></span></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">Hi y'all,</div></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"><br></div></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"></div>Falcon Heavy had its first static fire<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> </div><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">test</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"></div></font><span style="font-family:sans-serif"> (</span><a href="https://youtu.be/sNgByUWwFKU" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sNgByUWwFKU</a>) <font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif">and has announced its inaugural launch date - <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">Tuesday, </div>February 6th<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">(</div><a href="https://www.space.com/39519-spacex-first-falcon-heavy-rocket-launch-date.html">https://www.space.com/39519-spacex-first-falcon-heavy-rocket-launch-date.html</a></font><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">, in the embedded video he confesses "there's a lot that can go wrong" and "it's guaranteed to be exciting"</div><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"></div></font><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">)</div></font><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline"></div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"> </span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline">This picture shows Falcon Heavy in the foreground and Falcon 9 in the background. The Falcon 9 launched today.</div></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><img src="cid:ii_1614f9e2683efce5" alt="Inline image 1" width="472" height="451"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><br></div>
<div dir="auto"><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">If you haven't seen a SpaceX launch and the </span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline">subsequent </div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">landing of the first stage rocket for reuse it's quite remarkable</span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline">, an engineering feat</div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">. </span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline">This is a landing.</div><br></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"><br></div></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"><img src="cid:ii_1614fa627d278de9" alt="Inline image 2" width="472" height="262"><br></div></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"></div><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">Falcon </div>Heavy uses three <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">of these </div>Falcon <div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">9 </div>rockets<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"> which each have </div><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">9 Merlin engines so 27 engines need to fire in unison for Falcon Heavy. The </div><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">hope </div>is for all three <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">Falcon 9s </div>to land back on Earth<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">, t</div>he two side rockets simultaneously back at Cape Canaveral<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">, t</div>he third <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">a little later </div>on the Atlantic Ocean droneship<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">, Of Course I Still Love You</div>. <div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"></div></font><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">This </span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline"></div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">video <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">by one of my favorite YouTube explainers, Curious Elephant, </div>shows how all this is supposed to happen</span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline">. </div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">"Falcon Heavy's Maiden Launch 101"<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> </div></span><a href="https://youtu.be/HyvYH3lae8k" target="_blank" style="font-family:sans-serif">https://youtu.be/HyvYH3lae8k</a></div></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif">The attached picture provides scale.</font></div><div dir="auto"><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><div class="gmail_default"><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif">This is a test mission for going to Mars. Rather than the rock payload usually carried in tests, Elon Musk's cherry red Roadster will be used, playing David Bowie's Space Oddity at max volume (11 of course). After the capsule gets to deep space (not just an earth orbit which is as far as we've been since Apollo), the Roadster will be placed in a permanent orbit around the sun. (Personally I think Elon just wants an excuse to buy the new Roadster 2.0.)</font></div></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"></div></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">Anyone a private pilot or know one that might be interested in a trip to Florida? I'd definitely skip work for this (you didn't see this KB).</div></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"><br></div></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">Stay well,</div></span></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d">Liz</font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d">PS<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> - </div></font><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">I used to think spaceflight was a waste</span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline"> then grew to</div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"> like the unifying</span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline"> aspect of a national mission and that it promotes science and math</div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">. <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">More recently </div>I learned <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">of </div>all we had <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">gained </div>from </span><div class="gmail_default" style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;display:inline">space exploration</div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">. This article lists some of the recent stuff.<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> </div></span><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif">"15 Ways the International Space Station is Benefiting Earth"<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> </div></span><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"></span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/15_ways_iss_benefits_earth" target="_blank">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_<wbr>pages/station/research/news/15<wbr>_ways_iss_benefits_earth</a><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> Also, one of Elon's many goals is for a system of communication satelites to bring the internet to everyone worldwide cheap (maybe free) and to allow for more and shorter routes to be taken by planes saving time and fuel.</div></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">Here is more SpaceX footage and background info if you're interested.</div><span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif"></span></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d">This video is CRS-12's <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">
<span style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;font-size:small;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">(Commercial Resupply Services mission 12, took stuff to the space station)</span>
</div>launch & landing. Jump to 13:15 for the launch, 16:00 for separation and stage 1's boost<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">-</div>back burn to turn <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline">back </div>towards Earth (really neat to see the world pass beneath it) and 20:00 for the landing. </font><br></div><div dir="auto"><a href="https://youtu.be/vLxWsYx8dbo" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/vLxWsYx8dbo</a><br></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d">This video is NROL-76, a satellite <div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">launch</div> mission. <div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">It </div>is filmed from Earth<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"> for a different perspective of the </div>separation and <div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">the first stage rocket's 180</div>.</font></div><div dir="auto"><a href="https://youtu.be/hw0ztRL37Rw" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/hw0ztRL37Rw</a></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d"><br></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" color="#38761d">This shows a drone<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"> </div>ship landing. After four failures it<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"> was</div> the first successful rocket landing, mission CRS-8<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29);display:inline"></div>.<div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline"> Don't let the narrators fool you, according to Elon they couldn't afford to build another rocket if this one failed.</div></font></div><div dir="auto"><a href="https://youtu.be/zS4T18oVaFk" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/zS4T18oVaFk</a></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif">Today's mission - <a href="http://www.spacex.com/webcast">http://www.spacex.com/webcast</a> (I'm not sure how long the video will be at this website.) </font>"On Wednesday, January 31st, SpaceX successfully launched the GovSat-1 satellite to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite was deployed approximately 32 minutes after launch, putting the GovSat-1 satellite into its targeted orbit. Falcon 9’s first stage for the GovSat-1 mission previously supported the NROL-76 mission from LC-39A in May 2017. You can watch a replay of the mission below and find more information about the mission in our press kit."</div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><br></div></div><div dir="auto"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29)">Falcon 9 User's Guide</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29)"><a href="http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/falcon_9_users_guide_rev_2.0.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.spacex.com/sites/<wbr>spacex/files/falcon_9_users_<wbr>guide_rev_2.0.pdf</a></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"comic sans ms",sans-serif;color:rgb(56,118,29)">Pricing for both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions, if you have a satellite that needs launching or want to send something to ISS.</div><div class="gmail_default"><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities" target="_blank">http://www.spacex.com/about/<wbr>capabilities</a></font><br></div><div class="gmail_default"><font color="#38761d" face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><br></font></div></div></div></div></div><div><img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=7bbf18f210&view=fimg&th=160b51caaca76dd3&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ-HRfKOGmJ_Cdleb0quT_TG7fXx9iywqBslRBVBwfbvfIz1KKKQnegXEGobcjLJ6ZeNOxFFqsLHmH6GTwiXjrN_0fQVgcZSTJ6IYIL5RKGPdYclKKw2AnEJbjc&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1517458616707&rm=160b51caaca76dd3&zw&atsh=1" id="gmail-m_-5805540727097157950F93082B3-119A-4A58-8FBD-FCEF9B1266E4" style="padding: 0px 1px 1px 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="472" height="315"></div></div></div></div>